Lehigh vs. Vanderbilt for engineering

<p>Hi-</p>

<p>I am looking at Lehigh and Vanderbilt for engineering. I think I am going to have to apply ED to one of these two. My ACT score is a 29, but I scored a 32 in Math and a 34 in English, so I think that will help. I think I can get into Lehigh ED, but I'm not so sure about Vanderbilt, so I am worried about "wasting" an ED decision on Vanderbilt. I have tons of extracurricular, awards, leadership, etc. and am ranked in the top 6% of my class, but I just don't know if that's going to be enough to get into Vanderbilt. I am also thinking that Lehigh is really known for it's engineering program vs. Vanderbilt. Which school has the better engineering program, and which one has smaller class sizes in engineering? Any advice would be much appreciated!</p>

<p>If you do not have a clear first choice, do you really want to apply ED to either of them?</p>

<p>Well I like them both a lot. I just don’t know which one has a stronger engineering program. That would make my decision much easier.</p>

<p>They seem to be ranked or considered to be at the same level. Do you know what engineering major you are interested in? If so, one may be slightly stronger than the other.</p>

<p>Otherwise, you may need to base your decision on other factors. They are very different schools - Lehigh is mostly science/engineering and offers twice as many engineering majors as Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt has more liberal arts offerings. I think the student body is nerdier at Lehigh and more preppy at Vanderbilt. Gross oversimplifications of course!
And completely different locations.
You need to decide what matters to you. You would get an excellent engineering education at either one. What else matters to you?
Look at the CDS for each school to find out more about class sizes. I doubt there is a big difference between the two. These are both universities, not LACs. I think people worry about this too much, intro courses will be large but will have small recitation sections, classes get smaller once you get into your major courses.
If you want more data to work with, look at the ASEE profiles for each school:
[ASEE.org</a> - ASEE - Publications - College Profiles - Search the Profiles](<a href=“http://profiles.asee.org/]ASEE.org”>http://profiles.asee.org/)</p>

<p>That was very helpful. Some people tell me that vanderbilt in general has more of a national reputation than Lehigh ( though maybe not specifically for engineering?). Right now I am thinking civil engineering.</p>

<p>Vandy and Lehigh Engineering are similarly regarded imo, though Lehigh seems to place more emphasis on its program.</p>

<p>Based on their published info, Vandy has a strong incoming student body than Lehigh. Other more anecdotal information confirms this impression that Vandy is a stronger school.</p>

<p>I’d definitely lean towards Vandy if you’re looking for the stronger program.</p>

<p>I don’t know anything about Lehigh. I do know as an alum that Vandy puts as much emphasis on engineering as any other discipline. For an engineering school its size, it is ranked very well. You will not only get an excellent and very well respected engineering degree from Vandy, but you will also have a full college experience, on a really pretty campus in a neat city with decent weather.</p>

<p>I would chose Vandy for superior QOL overall. Both are very good for eng. and eng is not as status conscious a major anyway.</p>

<p>If I was looking to live in the south after school, Vandy. If I was unsure where I wanted to live, Lehigh. </p>

<p>As far as engineering goes they are not that much different. The cities and campuses are a lot different but engineering in the lab and classroom will be about the same.</p>

<p>Pick the school you’ll be happy at and you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>If you are specifically interested in structural engineering, please be advised that Lehigh is home to the ATLSS national test center:</p>

<p>[ATLSS</a> Engineering Center](<a href=“Welcome | Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems”>http://www.atlss.lehigh.edu/)</p>

<p>Vandy had nothing comparable.</p>

<p>LeHigh is pretty much an engineering school. When I visited there, I thought the campus was beautiful. During the information session, I found that LeHigh puts a lot of emphasis on their engineering program and is one of, if not the, most popular major. </p>

<p>I don’t know that much about Vanderbilt’s engineering program, so I’m not going to talk about it.</p>